FIRSTS
| 1791 | Reading predecessor Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation Co. incorporated, giving Reading the distinction of having the earliest corporate roots of a railroad in the United States. |
| 1832 | The first locomotive built by Matthias Baldwin, named Old Ironsides, entered service on the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad on November 23. The PG&N later became Reading's Norristown Branch. |
| 1833 | The first regular transportation of anthracite coal by steam power on the Little Schuylkill Railroad. |
| 1835 | The first tank cars designed to carry water and crude oil used on the inclined planes of the Danville and Pottsville Railroad. |
| 1837 | 1,932-foot Black Rock Tunnel opened on the Main Line near Phoenixville, Pa. At the time, it was the longest tunnel in the United States and the third tunnel to be constructed. |
| 1838 | First regular steam passenger service in the interior of Pennsylvania. The first run was made on May 1 and daily schedules commenced on July 16. |
| 1842 | The Reading opened the 93-mile Main Line from Pottsville to Port Richmond on May 17, becoming the first all-rail link between the coal regions of Pennsylvania and the Delaware River. |
| 1843 | First iron coal car conceived and built for the Reading |
| 1844 | First railroad in the United States to transport one million tons in a year |
| 1845 | First iron railroad bridge in the United States. |
| 1847 | The first ten-wheel locomotive in the United States. The 4-6-0 Chesapeake was built by the Norris Locomotive Works. |
| 1861 | First armored railcar designed by P&R engineer Rufus Wilder for the Civil War defense of Washington, D.C. |
| 1869 | First railroad in the United States to operate its own fleet of ocean-going coal vessels. |
| 1871 | Reading is the largest corporation in the world, having a gross valuation of $170 million dollars. |
| 1878 | The first camelback locomotive. P&R #412 was sent to France for the Paris Exhibition of 1878 where it was altered due to tight clearances on the Northern Railway of France. |
| 1883 | The first passenger station in the world to be lighted by electricity. Meters were installed at the Sunbury, Pa. station on April 10. |
| 1884 | The first use of the famous "Stop, Look and Listen" slogan at grade crossings. |
| 1891 | First railroad in the United States to achieve a "mile-a-minute" run in regular passenger service on the New York Division. |
| 1898 | First use of the black diamond Reading logo. |
| 1926 | The second railroad in the United States to purchase a diesel locomotive, class OE-1 boxcab #50. |
| 1945 | First railroad to use space radio for traffic control. Service installed on an experimental basis at Wayne Junction. |
| 1962 | First production GP30 diesel locomotive enters service on the Reading with the arrival of #5513 from General Motors Electro Motive Division. |
This list is adapted from Building a Modern Railroad, published by Reading in 1958.
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| This page last updated on 01 May, 2001. ©2001 Josh Musser. All Rights Reserved. Information and Comments Webmaster |
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